1917

1917 is one of the greatest films I've ever seen. It's a journey and an experience. It puts you right in the trenches with the two main characters and leaves you feeling as trapped as they are. This is largely due to the one-shot nature of the film, which was filmed to look like one continuous shot from beginning to end. There's no cut to what's happening in another location. There's no pause for an aerial shot. You are right there in the moment, experiencing everything as they do, and you can't take your eyes off it. The one-shot nature of the film and incredible acting puts you very close to the main characters, practically in their heads. From the moment these two men appear on screen I felt like I knew them, knew their goals, knew their desperation to complete their mission. As the movie went on, I felt immersed in their thoughts and feelings, more so than in most films I can think of. I came to care about them within minutes, which made the movie that much more effective. As the film went on I loved them as genuinely as any other favorite character, felt the pain they did, felt how afraid they were, and cried for their suffering. The acting was a huge factor in this, as both characters were perfectly cast and acted. The fact that they're lesser known actors that most people haven't seen made this that much more effective. They aren't Tom Cruise or Leonardo Decaprio. You go into the film with no expectations of them, which is exactly how Director Sam Mendes wanted it. (Although I suppose I'm giving you some expectations now, aren't I? That's fine, let's keep going with this.) One actor in particular (who I won't name because I don't want to give a single thing away) was so incredibly amazing he became my favorite actor after watching this movie. Seriously. I felt his performance so strongly, and felt like I was experiencing every hardship with him. It's been years since I've been so effected by a performance. I went into the movie not even knowing his name, but now I'll be watching him for years to come. And I would be remiss if I didn't talk about how moving the story is. It's simple but captivating. You can describe this movie's plot in one sentence yet you leave the theater at a loss for words for the journey you just went on. This is a character journey more than anything and one of the best I've ever seen. The sense of dread is palpable. The movie puts you on the edge of your seat, makes you jump, makes your heart race, and makes you so afraid for these men and so desperate to see them complete their mission. And of course, the cinematography is perfect. Roger Deakins is a master and made this movie so understated yet so beautiful from beginning to end. The simple shots of nature are so peaceful compared to the underlying dread, you can't help but take a much-needed breath when he pans across a field or orchard. Then he gives you incredibly vivid shots that, as another reviewer put it, are so perfect you could print them out and hang them on your wall. The sound is also an unsung hero. The music is as understated and perfect as everything else. Usually it's nothing more than a few notes in the background, making you feel that something bad is about to happen, but when it needs to, the score swells and captures whatever terrible or beautiful thing is happening on screen. And the use of other sounds: bullets, running water, even silence, is used perfectly to put you in the moment. This movie has become one of my favorite movies of all time. I highly recommend you at least give it a try. Maybe you'll simply enjoy it. Or maybe, like me, you'll walk away from it knowing you just experienced something special, a film you will never forget.

The way it was shot was amazing. That is what I found most impressive throughout the film. It is a little slow, not like Dunkirk,(which I thought was good but too slow) but I still get taken out of the movie time and time again. The plot which mainly consisted of just going somewhere to find someone was not what I was expecting. Seems a bit too simple for this type of movie but regardless I still enjoyed it and I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Honestly for me, it felt a lot like Dunkirk, very slow, and felt like a British version of Saving Private Ryan with the plot of saving the brother. Some scenes dragged out too long; I get that it was trying to show you Schofield's struggle of getting from one place to the next, but it just became predictable that it was going to take 5-10 min to get from one place to the next in the scene. If Cumberpatch was to give the movie some star power, it really didn't help.